Arne Slot will be delighted as Hugo Ekitike breaks silence on Alexander Isak move

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Arne Slot will face a serious dilemma when his Liverpool players return from international duty.

The Reds maintained a perfect record in the Premier League heading into the international break, with Dominik Szoboszlai’s stunning free kick against Arsenal securing a 1-0 win at Anfield.

Liverpool, on the other hand, have been far from perfect, having conceded four goals in their opening two matches, squandering a two-goal advantage in both and forcing Slot to rely on his bench to salvage the three points.

Federico Chiesa scored the goal to restore the Reds’ lead against Bournemouth on the opening day, whereas Rio Ngumoha provided the match-winner against Newcastle United.

Following Alexander Isak’s British record arrival from Newcastle on deadline day, Slot will have his record-signing and Hugo Ekitike battling to lead the line at Anfield, and the Frenchman has now broken his silence on the move.

Hugo Ekitike is ready to compete with Alexander Isak at Liverpool

Ekitike replaced Manchester City’s Rayan Cherki in Didier Deschamps’ France squad for the World Cup qualifiers, and speaking ahead of the clash against Iceland on Tuesday, the forward has shared his verdict on Isak’s move to the Reds in a clear message to Slot.

“When you play at big clubs, you expect to be in competition with the best players,” Ekitike said, as relayed by Get French Football News. “Isak is a player that I watched, so for him to arrive is great. It will provide tough competition, but I’ll focus on being good and performing well so that it is just the manager’s problem.”

“My life has changed. It is a big transfer. I am watched one thousand times more than before, but I take it as a positive. It is the position I wanted to be in.”

“When you have these kinds of standards, you have to show that you deserve your place here and continue to perform. It is a position that I like to be in, and I want to keep it.”

Jamie Carragher believes Ekitike can play on the flanks for the Reds with Isak operating as the central striker. While this appears to be the general consensus regarding how the pair will fit into the same starting line-up, this may not be the ideal way to get the best out of Ekitike.

Former director of research Ian Graham shared that Ekitike is the same profile as Roberto Firmino – a centre-forward who not only provides goals but is essential to the overall attacking play.

Graham is not the first to draw such a comparison – Adebayo Akinfenwa also noted the similarities between Ekitike and Firmino, and it is difficult to disagree. Ekitike has developed a knack for appearing at the heart of the Reds’ attacks during the opening three league matches.

And considering the 23-year-old has scored three goals in his first four competitive outings, combined with Cody Gakpo’s impressive start this season, it would make little sense to move Ekitike into the wider areas when he has proven prolific as the central striker.

Therefore, Isak and Ekitike will indeed compete to be the leading striker for Slot.

How do Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak compare?

Although Isak is considered the more out-and-out centre-forward between the pair, they are remarkably similar across all the metrics.

Only the finest of margins separate Isak and Ekitike in terms of passing the ball and linking up play with their teammates.

Indeed, Isak is far more prolific in front of goal, but he also narrowly trails behind his Liverpool teammate by 0.02% in pass completion.